[ [link removed] ]The text reads "collective people power over consolidated corporate
power." The image shows hands, from different people, all in stacked on
top of each other.

Thanks to Color Of Change members like you, John, the American
Innovation and Choice Online Act has passed out of the Senate Judiciary
Committee. The next step is to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. By
passing the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, Congress would
outlaw Big Tech's unfair treatment of competitors and the practice of
giving their own products preferential treatment, and create a bureau at
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this bill and protect
competition in the digital markets our communities rely on.^1 That’s why
we’re sending postcards to your legislators before the American Innovation
and Choice Online Act floor vote! 

[ [link removed] ]Add YOUR INFO TO SEND A POSTCARD!

Big Tech has near-total control over online shopping, online content, and
online connections. From Facebook buying Instagram—which then copied
TikTok—to killing Vine, Big Tech has a history of acquiring, copying, and
killing competitors.^2-4 Without competitors, Big Tech can force small
businesses to use their platforms while also driving them out of
existence.

Here are a few examples of how Big Tech has shaped our lives:

* Amazon has a history of both copying another business’s product and
ranking its copycat higher than the original product in users’ search
results. Imagine trying to buy a tea kettle and the default is
Amazon’s tea kettle, when there are cheaper and better-reviewed tea
kettles from third-party sellers.^5,6  
* In Apple’s App Store, if you search for a generic version of an app,
Apple will put its own apps first. Imagine wanting to install Spotify
in 2018. Prior to Spotify’s complaints, you had to scroll past 22
apps—8 of which were Apple apps, and some of which were unrelated to
music—before reaching the Spotify app you were actually looking
for.^7 
* As a small business owner that may also sell on Amazon Marketplace,
Amazon forces you to sell your products at the lowest price on its
Marketplace even if you sell the product on your own website. This is
concerning when Amazon has arbitrarily lowered prices on products sold
by third-party sellers, such as PopSockets.^8 

These anti-competitive actions neither promote innovation nor give us
choice. When corporations expand their control of the market, they shape
our lives by exploiting Black-owned small businesses and deciding how much
we pay for necessary resources. When Big Tech refuses to prioritize people
over profits, we should have other options that center our livelihoods.

[ [link removed] ]TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS TO PASS THE AMERICAN INNOVATION AND CHOICE ONLINE
ACT!

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is a piece of antitrust
reform, an invaluable tool to advance racial justice. Antitrust reform and
enforcement would restrict predatory pricing, require Big Tech to sell off
its acquisitions, and block future mergers.^9,10 Tell Congress we need
antitrust reform and to pass the American Innovation and Choice Online
Act!

When our antitrust reform makes racial justice an explicit goal of policy
and enforcement, a better future is possible—a future that centers the
livelihoods and wellbeing of Black people. Black entrepreneurs will be
able to cultivate and control their own businesses. Black-owned
businesses, which are more likely to invest in their communities, will be
better able to hire from their communities and support political
movements.^11 Black consumers will have better options for products. Black
people will have access to economic justice independent of Big Tech. 

[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress that they work for us, not big tech

Until justice is real, 
—Color Of Change HQ

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References: 

 1. “S.2992 - American Innovation and Choice Online Act,” Congress.gov,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. Kurt Wagner, “Here’s why Facebook’s $1 billion Instagram acquisition
was such a big deal,” Vox, April 9, 2017,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. Brian X. Chen and Taylor Lorenz, “We tested Instagram Reels, the
TikTok clone. What a dud.” The New York Times, August 14, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 4. Rachel Kraus, “Mark Zuckerberg gave the order to kneecap Vine, emails
show,” Mashable, December 5, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 5. Spencer Soper, “AmazonBasics house brand flatters competitions, but
they’re not fans,” Seattle Times, April 23, 2016,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 6. Matt Stoller, Pat Garofalo, and Olivia Webb, “Understanding Amazon:
Making the 21st Century Gatekeeper Safe for Democracy,” American
Economic Liberties Project, July 24, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 7. Jack Nices and Keith Collins, “How Apple’s Apps Topped Rivals in the
App Store It Controls,” The New York Times, September 9, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 8. Ibid.
 9. “Predatory Pricing,” Merriam-Webster,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
10. “Mergers and Acquisitions: What’s the Difference?” Investopedia,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
11. Brian S. Feldman, “The Decline of Black Business,” Washington Monthly,
March/April/May 2017,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 



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